Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.   The […]

My father, who was both a loyal unionist and a staunch supporter of the Labor Party (and for a time a Labor Alderman in the local council), was quick to point out to me that the “Tories” (as he called the Liberal and the, then, Country Parties) were only interested in lining the pockets of […]

Many social commentators are keen to remind us we live in an uncertain world. They are quick to point to our parlous geopolitical situation with the rising influence of antidemocratic forces in China and Russia; the threat to our health and wellbeing of the Covid epidemic and unpredictable outcomes of climate change. Most would have […]